Chamber and committees

Current SG guidance for local authorities on developing a statutory Local Housing Strategy (LHS) encourages local authorities to ensure they provide a wide range of housing types to suit the needs of people of all ages, including the need for accessible housing and housing related services to allow people to live as independently as possible.

Work is currently underway to develop guidance for local authorities and other stakeholders on the need to set a realistic target for the delivery of wheelchair accessible housing across all tenures. This will be incorporated into the Local Housing Strategy guidance, which will be reviewed later this year.

The Scottish Government wants disabled people in Scotland to have access to homes that enable them to participate as full and equal citizens. A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People - Our Disability Delivery Plan launched in December 2016 set out a number of housing related commitments that support this ambition.

In particular, with reference to Action 63, our grant subsidy arrangements for the Affordable Housing Supply Programme continue to be sufficiently flexible to support the development of higher cost, specialist housing which is identified by local authorities as a priority – this includes wheelchair accessible homes to help disabled people to live independently.

Barrier free design is not intended to be a substitute for dwellings designed specifically for wheelchair users who need the full benefits that specially designed and equipped houses can give.

That is why Action 63 of A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People - our Disability Delivery Plan to 2021 states that we will ensure that the grant subsidy arrangements for the Affordable Housing Supply Programme do not prevent specialist housing identified by local authorities as a priority from being built. This includes wheelchair accessible homes to help disabled people to live independently.

In addition, Housing for Varying Needs guidance is used as the basis of required standards in relation to Scottish Government grant-funded affordable housing. This offers good practice in the design of housing so that newly-built, refurbished or adapted buildings achieve a degree of flexibility, suit people of different abilities, are convenient to use and fit for their purpose.

The Scottish Government has allocated more than £2.5 billion from the Affordable Housing Supply Programme in resource planning assumptions to local authorities over the five-year period to March 2021 to deliver their strategic housing priorities. This funding will be directed to housing associations and councils to allow them to deliver additional, affordable homes - the majority of which will meet Housing for Varying Needs standards, thereby ensuring that the completed housing is accessible, fit for purpose and adaptable for different needs. Latest available statistics show that 91% of homes built by housing associations and councils in 2016-17 met Housing for Varying Needs standards. We would expect a similar level of compliance to continue going forward.

In addition, the Scottish Government has allocated £10 million of funding in 2017-18 to help those Registered Social Landlords which have stock in areas outside of Edinburgh and Glasgow to meet the cost of adapting homes so that older people and disabled people can continue to live safely and independently at home in accessible properties which meet their needs. This level of funding will be maintained in
2018-19. (Registered Social Landlords with stock in Edinburgh and Glasgow receive funding for adaptations directly from the relevant local authority through the Local Government Settlement.)

The way in which social landlords, including local authorities, hold information on their housing lists is a matter for each organisation. The Scottish Government’s Social Housing Allocations: A PracticeGuide includes advice on collecting information from applicants, including applicants applying on health and disability grounds.

The guidance is available on the Scottish Government’s website at: https://beta.gov.scot/publications/social-housing-allocations-a-practice-guide

The Scottish Government values the important role that justices of the peace play in the administration of Justice.

The Scottish Government is committed to the expansion of mid-market rent housing, where required, to ensure that those on low to moderate incomes have access to high quality homes at affordable rent levels. We will continue to work with local authorities to deliver such housing through innovative funding models that can attract significant levels of private investment, and support grant funded mid-market rent housing delivered through housing associations and their subsidiaries.

It is the responsibility of local authorities to determine the appropriate housing required in their areas, based on the findings from their Housing Need and Demand Assessment and the policies set out in their Local Housing Strategy.

The current SG guidance for local authorities on developing a Local Housing Strategy (LHS) encourages local authorities to provide a wide range of housing types to suit the needs of people of all ages, including the need for accessible housing and housing related services to allow people to live as independently as possible.

NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde have advised that the majority of paediatric consultants will move to the Royal Hospital for Children under the established organisational change policy. They will continue to contribute to outpatient services in Clyde. Specialty grades will similarly merge into the Royal Hospital for Children whilst supporting on-going outpatient clinics in Clyde. The middle grade trainees will continue to provide cover for the community based services, outpatient clinics and neonatal care in Clyde, as well as the Royal Hospital for Children. The Foundation Trainees will remain on the Royal Alexandra Hospital site covering neonates and outpatient clinics. The majority of paediatric nursing staff will move to the Royal Hospital for Children under the organisational change policy, with the remainder staying at the Royal Alexandra Hospital to support the paediatric outpatient clinics. Further to this, the A&E Department at the Royal Alexandra Hospital will continue to receive paediatric patients who self-present alongside the continuation of outpatient clinics, as well as specialist community paediatric services.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-14112 on 1 February 2018. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx